18 Wasteful Items in the $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill: Millions for LGBT Projects, Border Security for Other Countries

The $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill contains millions in wasteful spending, including $575 million for “reproductive health” where population growth “threatens biodiversity,” $11 million for LGBT-related projects, and millions more for border security for other countries.

Democrats are determined to pass the $1.7 trillion spending spree prior to Christmas following the Senate advancing the spending bill on Tuesday. The omnibus hit a snag mid-week due to Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) Title 42 amendment, which lawmakers ultimately rejected.

The swamp quickly regained its footing, and the Senate passed the bill on Thursday in a 68-29 vote, despite conservatives in both chambers warning Republican colleagues to vote against the measure. Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is among those who has backed the warnings of House Republicans threatening to thwart the legislative efforts of GOP senators who voted in favor of the bill.

Agreed. Except no need to whip—when I’m Speaker, their bills will be dead on arrival in the House if this nearly $2T monstrosity is allowed to move forward over our objections and the will of the American people. https://t.co/WCC477R4IM

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) December 20, 2022

Eighteen Republican senators ended up voting with Democrats to pass the $1.7 government spending spree.

The 4,155-page monster contains billions in earmarks and millions more on wasteful projects unrelated to keeping the government up and running.

Here are some of the highlights.

1. The bill contains $45 billion to Ukraine. This is in addition to the $66 million given by American taxpayers earlier this year, bringing the total to $111 billion.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that the blank check is simply not enough:
   

   “We are not in an easy situation. The enemy is increasing its army. Our people are braver and need more powerful weapons,” he said about the Ukrainian war. “We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint — it is not enough.”

2. The bill also designates part of D.C. as Ukrainian Independence Park and, as Breitbart News reported, “allows for signs around the park that ‘include information on the importance of the independence, freedom, and sovereignty of Ukraine and the solidarity between the people of Ukraine and the United States.'”
3. $11 million is allotted for LGBT-themed projects. This includes $1.2 million to San Diego Community College for “centers to support LGBT students,” $3 million for the American LGBTQ+ Museum in New York City, $750,000 for the “TransLatin@ Coalition” to provide “workforce development programs and supportive services for Transgender, Gender nonconforming and Intersex (TGI) immigrant women in Los Angeles,” and $105,000 going toward what has been described as a “mentoring program for LGBT youth in the greater Pittsburg area.” Another $856,000 is allotted for an “LGBT Center” in New York as well.
4. The bill designates tens of millions for “necessary expenses associated with the restoration of Pacific salmon populations, $65,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2024.” The words “salmon” or “salmonoid” are mentioned 48 times throughout the bill.
5. The bill includes over half a billion, $575 million, to be used for “family planning” or “reproductive health.” This includes areas where lawmakers say population growth “threatens biodiversity.” The bill states in part, “That of the funds appropriated under title III of this Act, not less than $575,000,000 should be made available for family planning/reproductive health, including in areas where population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species.”
6. 19 earmarks totaling $60 million are set aside for RINO Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). This includes $500,000 for the “Restoring Indigenous Safety and Empowerment (RISE) Tribal Domestic Violence Shelter for Helping Ourselves Prevent Emergencies.”
7. Outgoing Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) has $656 million worth of earmarks in the package. That includes $35 million for Spring Hill College, Alabama, for facilities and equipment and $100 million for the Woolsey Finnell Bridge in Alabama.
8. $956,000 will go to the Equity Incubator at the Universities at Shady Grove.
9. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has half a billion dollars worth of earmarks in the bill, which include $40 million for the Tulsa International Airport (TUL) Air Traffic Control Tower.
10. The bill renames a federal building in San Francisco after Rep. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
11. $2.3 million is allotted to the Secretary of Education to “conduct outreach to borrowers” who could qualify for the Biden administration’s stalled plan to cancel the debt of student loan borrowers.
12. $1.5 billion of taxpayer dollars goes toward something called the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Health (ARPA-H).
13. $410 million is to “remain available” to reimburse Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman for “enhanced border security.” Of that, $150,000 must go to Jordan, specifically.
14. $1.5 million will go toward the “COVID–19 American History Project.”
15. $1 million will go to Ohio’s “Zora’s House,” which is described as a “sanctuary for women and gender-expansive people of color to dream, connect, and create; to shine bright and inspire change.”
16. $3.6 million establishes a Michelle Obama Trail in Georgia.
17. $2 million in taxpayer dollars will go to the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
18. $791,200 to California’s Sonoma County for “Equitable Energy Resilience and EV infrastructure.”

Pelosi hopes to pass the bill on Friday.